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Trade Deadline Roundup: Eastern Conference

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While trade deadline day was largely a dud in itself, that was because so many moves were made in the days leading up to March 3rd.  With that in mind, here is a recap of the trades made in the Eastern Conference in the ten days leading up to deadline day to show who all moved where in what was a busy trade period overall.  Players and picks that were acquired and then flipped are only noted for their final destination.

Boston Bruins

Acquired: F Shane Bowers, F Tyler Bertuzzi, F Garnet Hathaway, D Dmitry Orlov, F Andrei Svetlakov

Traded: G Keith Kinkaid, F Craig Smith, 2023 first-round pick, 2023 fifth-round pick, 2024 first-round pick, 2024 third-round pick, 2025 second-round pick, 2025 fourth-round pick

Buffalo Sabres

Acquired: F Jordan Greenway, D Riley Stillman, D Austin Strand, 2023 third-round pick (LA), 2025 seventh-round pick (NSH)

Traded: F Rasmus Asplund, F Josh Bloom, F Anders Bjork, G Erik Portillo, D Chase Priskie, 2023 second-round pick (VGK), 2024 fifth-round pick

Carolina Hurricanes

Acquired: D Shayne Gostisbehere, F Jesse Puljujarvi

Traded: F Patrik Puistola, 2026 third-round pick

Columbus Blue Jackets

Acquired: G Jon Gillies, G Michael Hutchinson, 2023 first-round pick (LA), 2023 fifth-round pick (BOS), 2024 third-round pick (LA), 2025 seventh-round pick (VGK)

Traded: D Vladislav Gavrikov, G Joonas Korpisalo, F Gustav Nyquist, Jakub Voracek, 2023 sixth-round pick

Detroit Red Wings

Acquired: F Dylan McLaughlin, 2023 first-round pick (NYI), 2023 second-round pick (VAN), 2023 fourth-round pick (MIN), 2024 first-round pick (BOS), 2025 fourth-round pick (BOS), 2025 seventh-round pick (STL)

Traded: F Tyler Bertuzzi, D Filip Hronek, F Oskar Sundqvist, F Jakub Vrana

Florida Panthers

No trades made

Montreal Canadiens

Acquired: D Frederic Allard, F Denis Gurianov, D Tony Sund, 2024 fifth-round pick (SJ)

Traded: F Evgenii Dadonov, D Arvid Henrikson, F Nate Schnarr

New Jersey Devils

Acquired: G Zacharie Emond, F Timur Ibragimov, F Curtis Lazar, F Timo Meier, D Santeri Hatakka, 2024 fifth-round pick (COL)

Traded: F Andreas Johnsson, D Shakir Mukhamadullin, D Nikita Okhotyuk, F Fabian Zetterlund, 2023 first-round pick, 2024 second-round pick, 2024 fourth-round pick, 2024 seventh-round pick

New York Islanders

Acquired: F Pierre Engvall

Traded: 2024 third-round pick

New York Rangers

Acquired: F Anton Blidh, D Wyatt Kalynuk, F Patrick Kane, F William Lockwood, D Cooper Zech, 2026 seventh-round pick (VAN)

Traded: F Vitali Kravtsov, F Austin Rueschhoff, F Gustav Rydahl, D Andy Welinski, 2023 second-round pick, 2025 third-round pick, 2025 fourth-round pick

Ottawa Senators

Acquired: F Patrick Brown, D Jakob Chychrun

Traded: D Nikita Zaitsev, 2023 first-round pick, 2023 second-round pick, 2023 sixth-round pick, 2024 second-round pick, 2026 second-round pick, 2026 fourth-round pick

Philadelphia Flyers

Acquired: F Brendan Lemieux, 2023 sixth-round pick (OTT), 2024 fourth-round pick (LA)

Traded: F Patrick Brown, F Zack MacEwen, F Isaac Ratcliffe

Pittsburgh Penguins

Acquired: F Nick Bonino, F Peter DiLiberatore, F Mikael Granlund, D Dmitry Kulikov, 2024 third-round pick (VGK)

Traded: F Teddy Blueger, F Brock McGinn, 2023 second-round pick, 2023 seventh-round pick, 2024 third-round pick, 2024 fifth-round pick

Tampa Bay Lightning

Acquired: F Michael Eyssimont, F Tanner Jeannot

Traded: D Cal Foote, F Vladislav Namestnikov, 2023 third-round pick, 2023 fourth-round pick, 2023 fifth-round pick, 2024 second-round pick, 2025 first-round pick

Toronto Maple Leafs

Acquired: D Erik Gustafsson, F Sam Lafferty, D Jake McCabe, D Luke Schenn, F Radim Zohorna, 2023 first-round pick (BOS), 2024 third-round pick (NYI), 2024 fifth-round pick (CHI), 2025 fifth-round pick (CHI)

Traded: F Joey Anderson, F Pierre Engvall, F Pavel Gogolev, F Dryden Hunt, D Rasmus Sandin, 2023 third-round pick, 2025 first-round pick, 2026 second-round pick

Washington Capitals

Acquired: D Rasmus Sandin, F Craig Smith, 2024 third-round pick (BOS), 2024 third-round pick (MIN), 2025 second-round pick (BOS), 2025 second-round pick (COL)

Traded: F Lars Eller, D Erik Gustafsson, F Garnet Hathaway, F Marcus Johansson, D Dmitry Orlov

Ondrej Kase Not Expected To Play This Season

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The Carolina Hurricanes currently have three players on long-term injured reserve. Max Pacioretty and Jake Gardiner have already been ruled out for the season, but there were still some question marks around Ondrej Kase. The veteran forward played just one game before suffering another concussion, an injury he has experienced several times throughout his career.

In December, Kase resumed skating, and it seemed there might be a chance for him to return. But Hurricanes reporter Walt Ruff relays an update from general manager Don Waddell, explaining that the team is not expecting him back this season.

We’re not planning on him [playing again this season] as of now. If we get a good surprise that he’s feeling better, we’ll work him back in.

Even before this incident with Carolina, Kase’s concussion history was “plausibly into the double digits,” as James Mirtle of The Athletic wrote last year. Starting from his first game in North America, and now potentially ending with his first game as a Hurricane, it has been a long, unfortunate grind for the 27-year-old winger. Kase has never played in more than 66 games in a single season, and has suited up just 258 times since debuting in 2016.

He is an effective middle-six player when he’s on the ice, but it’s starting to look like that will never happen again for the Czech winger. It is disappointing for a seventh-round draft pick that rose so rapidly and looked so promising as a young player. Incredibly, he still ranks 27th in goals among all players drafted in 2014.

Carolina Hurricanes Acquire Shayne Gostisbehere

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The Carolina Hurricanes, not to be outdone by their Eastern Conference counterparts, have added another player for their upcoming playoff run. Shayne Gostisbehere has been acquired from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a third-round pick in 2026.

The Coyotes did not retain any of Gostisbehere’s $4.5MM contract.

If there is one thing the Hurricanes were having trouble with this season, it’s the powerplay. Their team is so well-rounded that they have lost just 11 games in regulation, but with the man advantage, they rank 23rd at just 19.37%. That’s only barely ahead of the Coyotes, a team that is generally considered to have some of the worst offensive skill in the league.

What’s the difference? Well, Gostisbehere, for one. The 29-year-old defenseman has always been a wizard at the top of a powerplay umbrella, slinging passes around and using a hard shot to create havoc in front of the net. To this point, 135 of his 301 career points have been a man-up, though just ten of those have come this season, as he has ceded time to Jakob Chychrun and others.

Still, the Hurricanes have used players like Gostisbehere very effectively in years past. Tony DeAngelo, for instance, put up 51 points in 64 games with the club last season before they cut him loose.

This is a masterclass in asset management and weaponizing cap space by Arizona, who acquired Gostisbehere in 2021, adding a second-round pick and seventh-round pick to take his contract off the books of the Philadelphia Flyers. He played good hockey for the Coyotes, was paid very little on a front-loaded contract, and then was flipped for another significant draft pick.

While the Coyotes will still have to prove they can hit on those picks, develop them and build a competitive team, this is about as good as it gets for a rebuilding club.

Hurricanes Could Be Interested In Max Domi

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  • A year ago, the Hurricanes acquired Max Domi as a rental player just before the trade deadline. In his latest column for The Athletic (subscription link), Pierre LeBrun reports that Domi is once again on Carolina’s radar heading into this week’s deadline.  The 27-year-old had seven points in 19 games with the Hurricanes last season and has been quite productive with the Blackhawks this year, notching 49 points in 59 games.  Accordingly, the price that it will take to get him this time around should be considerably higher than the mid-round prospect and a minor leaguer that it cost them in 2022.

Carolina Hurricanes Acquire Jesse Puljujarvi

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The Jesse Puljujarvi saga in Edmonton is ending. The Carolina Hurricanes have acquired Puljujarvi from the Oilers today, after months (if not years) of trade speculation. The rights to Patrik Puistola are going back to Edmonton in the trade, and the Oilers will not be retaining any of Puljujarvi’s contract.

This ends a long, disappointing tenure for Puljujarvi in Edmonton, starting the moment they selected him fourth overall in 2016. Despite his size, speed, and relative success in the Finnish professional league, he was completely overwhelmed when he entered the NHL in 2016-17. Bouncing up and down between the NHL and AHL hindered his development, and a few years later, Puljujarvi had enough.

In 2019-20, when his entry-level deal expired, he refused to sign a contract with the Oilers and asked for a trade. He would return to Finland to play for the entire season, once again finding great success in a more offensive role back home.

Upon returning to Edmonton the following year, Puljujarvi turned in a relatively good performance, scoring 15 goals and 25 points in 55 games. But his game had inconsistent swings in production, and it was hard to know exactly where his place on the Oilers really was.

Now, with Edmonton looking to make a big splash at the deadline but pushed right up against the salary cap ceiling, Puljujarvi needed to go. His $3MM will come off the books, meaning the team can add something significant in the coming days.

Puistola, 22, may never actually play for the Oilers. The 2019 third-round pick is unsigned and would need a contract by June 1, or his exclusive draft rights will expire. That gives Edmonton a few months to work something out with the young forward, who scored 38 points in 56 games with Jukurit in Finland this season.

In Carolina, Puljujarvi should feel a little more at home. The Hurricanes’ roster is filled with Finnish players, including 2016 World Junior teammate Sebastian Aho. There’s a real chance that he finally shows some of the offensive potential that has been locked up for so long, though that is by no means guaranteed after so many tumultuous development years.

At the very least, Puljujarvi—who has some very good underlying defensive and possession metrics—will add another big-bodied forward to the Hurricanes attack, and lengthen their forward depth chart even further. The injury to Max Pacioretty gave Carolina some wiggle room in terms of cap space, and they’ve used it to take a swing on a move that could still pay huge dividends down the road.

Puljujarvi is still scheduled for restricted free agency at the end of the year, and would be due a $3MM qualifying offer. Given the money coming off the books in Carolina, there’s no reason why they would be afraid of that number, meaning they could get a longer look at Puljujarvi with a long-term commitment if finds a fit down the stretch.

It is a disappointing outcome for another high pick in Edmonton, but fans will quickly forget the sacrifice if they can turn this cap space into a difference-maker at the deadline.

Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic broke news of the deal on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

West Notes: Karlsson, Chychrun, McDonough

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With Timo Meier already out the door, many have wondered if even more big changes will be coming to the San Jose Sharks before Friday’s trade deadline. More specifically, many have wondered if two-time Norris Trophy winner and leading defensive scorer Erik Karlsson could be traded. According to Karlsson himself, it doesn’t seem like that’s going to be a possibility. In speaking to The Athletic’s Corey Masisiak, Karlsson said “it would be weird” if Sharks GM Mike Grier asked him to waive his no-trade clause just a few days before the deadline, indicating that it would be a complete shock at this point if he were dealt in the next few days.

While the 32-year-old has had a vintage season (he’s on pace to score 105 points) Karlsson’s $11.5MM cap hit through the 2026-27 season has seemingly presented a significant obstacle toward finding an agreeable trade. The Edmonton Oilers have been widely rumored as having had interest in acquiring Karlsson, only for any trade talks to stall once the issue of retained salary came under the microscope. Despite his stellar play, it could be the Sharks’ reported unwillingness to retain a major chunk of Karlsson’s average annual salary (more than $1-2MM per year) that has thrown a wrench in any blockbuster mid-season deal happening.

  • With Karlsson seemingly off the market, the top defenseman on the market before Friday’s deadline is widely considered to be Arizona Coyotes blueliner Jakob Chychrun. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta issued an update on Chychrun’s status, tweeting that trade “talk has picked up,” although no trade is expected to be imminent. He also adds that the Washington Capitals, Los Angeles Kings, and Carolina Hurricanes are “three of the teams very much in the mix” to acquire Chychrun.
  • Northeastern University captain Aidan McDonough has had a strong senior season for the Huskies, scoring 36 points in 31 games, and is nearing a significant decision regarding his professional career. He’ll have the ability to choose his pro destination this summer and could potentially sign with a different team besides the Vancouver Canucks, the club that selected him 195th overall at the 2019 draft. Per CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal, McDonough “is still very open to signing in VAN,” and his ultimate decision is “not far away.” It’s likely that quite a few teams would be interested in adding McDonough, so should Vancouver get him it would be a quality addition to their prospect system.

Hurricanes Reportedly Out On TImo Meier

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LeBrun does note that the situation remains fluid, meaning nothing is final until trade calls have been made to the league and the paperwork has been filed, but it does seem as though those two teams are the final two in the mix for Meier, and that the Carolina Hurricanes have been eliminated from consideration.

These reports should not come as a major surprise, as yesterday we covered reports that the Devils were leading the pack in the chase for Meier. But today’s news that the Hurricanes are out of the running for Meier does come as a major development.

The Hurricanes have been active in the chase of a scoring winger ever since Max Pacioretty was lost for the season with another Achilles injury, and Meier was viewed as one of their top targets not only for his skills but also due to how well his age fits in with the Hurricanes’ other star players.

In addition to seeking scoring help, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that the Hurricanes have made calls in recent days looking to acquire a left-shot defenseman as well, presumably to find an upgrade for their third pairing.

Carolina Hurricanes Linked To Craig Smith

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  • While the Carolina Hurricanes have been very publically linked to San Jose Sharks forward Timo Meier, that may not be the only move they make before the March 3 deadline. With more cap space available than a standard contender, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believes they’ve spoken to the Boston Bruins about winger Craig Smith. Smith’s offensive numbers have taken a nosedive this season, recording just 10 points in 42 games in the final year of a contract carrying a $3.1MM cap hit. With Boston looking to offload salary to make other deadline moves, Smith could provide an added veteran presence in a Carolina bottom-six. Boston would likely compensate them for taking the contract off their hands. Carolina is a rare contender with a favorable salary cap situation, as they still have over $10MM in potential deadline cap space.

Hurricanes, Oilers Have Discussed Jesse Puljujarvi Trade

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Earlier this week, the Oilers opted to drop down to a minimum-sized roster in order to get cap-compliant to activate winger Kailer Yamamoto from LTIR.  As luck would have it, the flu bug hit the team for yesterday’s game against the Rangers and the team wound up playing short a player as Klim Kostin was unable to suit up.  That’s not a viable situation for a playoff contender to have to navigate through for another couple of months before the season comes to an end so there has been an expectation that they will open up some cap space.

Jesse Puljujarvi has been widely speculated as the eventual cap casualty but, for the time being, they haven’t found a trade that works for them.  However, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector reports that there is a belief that the Hurricanes have indicated that they are willing to move winger Ondrej Kase (currently on LTIR with a concussion) to Edmonton for Puljujarvi but only after the Finnish winger has cleared waivers.  That would allow Carolina to shuffle him back and forth between the AHL if needed while seeing if a change of scenery could help get him going.

It has been quite a fall for the 24-year-old who was the fourth-overall pick in 2016 but hasn’t come close to living up to his draft billing.  This season, Puljujarvi has been quite limited offensively, scoring just five goals along with seven assists in 53 games, hardly the type of production they were expecting after he posted 36 points in 65 contests just last season.  It’s also hardly the type of return they were hoping for from someone carrying a $3MM cap hit.

Clearly, GM Ken Holland still believes he can salvage some sort of positive value for Puljujarvi as otherwise, he likely would have hit the waiver wire already.  If he was to be claimed, they’d free up the full $3MM in cap room and if not, the proposed swap with Carolina would open up $1.5MM in regular cap room and $1.5MM (Kase’s cap hit) in their LTIR pool.  While that wouldn’t be a great return by any stretch, it would certainly give them a bit more flexibility to work with as they either look to add a piece by the March 3rd trade deadline or to bring someone back up from AHL Bakersfield to avoid having to play short a player as they did last night.  We’ll find out soon enough if Holland is able to find a better option for Puljujarvi than this one.

Carolina Hurricanes Not Willing To Trade Alexander Nikishin

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Get ready for another mid-round pick by the Carolina Hurricanes to become an impact player at the NHL level. Over the years, the team has made a habit of picking the right defender outside the first round, even if some call it a crap shoot at that point.

Brian Dumoulin was 51st overall in 2009. Justin Faulk 37th in 2010. Jaccob Slavin 120th in 2012. Brett Pesce 66th in 2013. Now, they believe they’ve found another.

In Pierre LeBrun’s latest piece for The Athletic, he mentions that the Hurricanes have made it clear in trade talks that Alexander Nikishin is off the table. The insider notes that Carolina sees a “big future” in mind for Nikishin.

Selected 69th overall in 2020, Nikishin was already playing in the KHL at the time. But when they picked him, he had scored just three points at that level and hadn’t really been dominant in junior. The following year was much the same, with just five points in 20 KHL games, but things changed suddenly.

In 2022 he was surprisingly chosen for the Russian Olympic roster. This year, after a transfer to powerhouse program SKA St. Petersburg, he leads all defensemen in scoring by a mile. His 51 points in 62 games put him tenth in the league, just four points behind league leader Dimitrj Jaskin.

Nikishin’s contract in Russia expires at the end of this season, meaning he could sign an entry-level deal with the Hurricanes. Even if his impact can’t be felt right away, the Hurricanes may have found someone to help take over some of the responsibility down the road. None of the team’s defenders are signed past 2024-25, with Pesce, Jalen Chatfield, and Brady Skjei scheduled for unrestricted free agency after next season.

As much as they may want to upgrade the roster right now, Nikishin is apparently too valuable to lose.

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